Sarah-Jayne O’Kane, from Severn Trent, said: “With Christmas fast approaching we know there will be lots of cooking going on and our message to all those chefs out there is please don’t pour fat, oil and grease down the kitchen sink – it costs millions of pounds to repair each year and could result in your home being flooded.”

She added: “Our teams have been working really hard to start digging out the combination of fat, oil and grease that has blocked up these sewers.

“What’s really frustrating is that this problem is completely avoidable – it’s caused by restaurants and residents pouring oil and fat down kitchen sinks which lead to our sewers.

“When the hot mixtures cool down they quickly solidify and then stick to the walls of the sewer pipes.

“This builds up over time and eventually causes a blockage that can result in flooding.”